Oregon in Moscow Tracks
1. Round Robin
2. Beneath an Evening Sky
3. Acis and Galatea
4. Templars
5. Anthem
6. All the Mornings Bring
7. Along the Way
8. Arianna
9. Icarus
10. Waterwheel
11. Spanish Stairs (Squanto)
12. Free-Form Piece for Orchestra and Improvisors
13. Spirits of Another Sort
14. Firebat
15. Zephyr
Oregon in Moscow Review
A suitably ambitious memento of the group's 30-year association, Oregon in Moscow is not a concert recording but a far-reaching exploration of the ensemble's substantial orchestral influences. Recorded over six days in the company of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, the two-disc project (covering more than 90 minutes) highlights the venerable group's attentiveness toward tone, dynamics, and phrasing as much as its facility for transcending genres and rhythms. Producer Steve Rodby seated the quartet (founding members Ralph Towner, Paul McCandless, and Glen Moore, plus new, fresh-faced percussionist Mark Walker) face-to-face in the same studio (Moscow's State Recording House GDRZ) during the overdub-free recording, a move that imbues the CD with a rewarding collaborative spark. On several occasions, Rodby mentions in the liner notes that orchestra members responded to Oregon's group improvisations with shouts and stomping feet. The recorded outcome is often serious-minded and somewhat less lyrical than, say, Northwest Passage, the disc that preceded this project by more than two years. Abstract at times ("Arianna") and liberating at others ("Zephyr," "Icarus"), Oregon in Moscow seems to invigorate every artist involved, and McCandless seems especially adventurous in the orchestral setting. It serves as a fitting, challenging reminder that beyond jazz, world rhythms, and categories not yet defined, classical stimuli are another fundamental element in Oregon's free-range musical amalgam. --Terry Wood
Someone listening to this album before knowing Oregon might think of it as a modern concerto or, in parts, as an exceptional film score. But as in their prior work, for me the strongest content is in the original, rock-solid compositions, which stand up to fine orchestration every bit as well -- albeit differently -- as to the small ensemble setting in which these guys usually play.
The reviews here are notable not only for articulate descriptions of this group's music, but also for reminiscences of 1st encountering Oregon. My initial (and favorite) exposure was to "Out of the Woods" in the late 70s (just before the companion album, "Roots in the Sky"), when the late Colin Walcott was still 'out front' with his sitar and tabla. When I saw the album cover painting depicting a deeply colored forest with interspersed wood instruments coming 'out of the woods,' I thought, knowing nothing of Oregon, 'if the music sounds how this cover looks, it will be sublime!' (Usually an unreliable way to choose music, but I was searching...) The music was a perfect match.
Among numerous Oregon concerts attended, my most memorable was at the '79 Telluride Jazz Festival, a grimly sleety, cold weekend in which the sun shone literally only at the outset of Oregon's Sunday morning set. As yet more, threatening new storm clouds moved relentlessly up valley during the set, Oregon began the wailing and timeless incantations of Witchi-Tai-To. The freezing sleet and hail let loose in a fury as they played, and the group missed not a beat as they moved their instruments to shelter. The moment the music finished, we all realized for the 1st time that we were painfully wet and cold -- to which we'd all been oblivious during Oregon's transcendant music. Best demonstration I have ever experienced of the sheer power of great music!
Years later, Paul McCandless recalled that scene with me as vividly and reverently as I.